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If you want to make money online, one of the best things you can do is to become an freelance writer for the web.

Online Freelance writing has become a lucrative career because it allows everyone who has good writing skills to join in including stay-at-home moms, students, professionals, managers, businessmen, and sports and fitness enthusiasts.

It doesn’t require you to report regularly to an office because it allows you to do your work from home on your own time. But despite these reasons, there are still plenty of myths that surround the online freelance writing profession. They have made a lot of aspiring writers reluctant to give it a try.

Here are some of the myths about freelance writing for the web that you should know:

1. There’s no place for new freelance writers; all the good jobs are already taken.

This is a misconception. There’s a huge demand for online freelance writers everyday as more and more businesses are building up their online presence and they need lots of written content to achieve this.

2. Online writing jobs don’t pay well.

This is a generalization and it’s not absolutely true. It is true that there are some writing gigs that offer low rates, but there are several writing projects that pay very well.

3. You need technical knowledge to write online.

A lot of people think that technical know-how like HTML coding is a primary requirement for writing online. This is not true at all. The skills that you need to be efficient as an online writer are the ability to used e-mail, basic word processing skills, and ability to use search engines for your research.

While there are some website owners that require you to post your articles directly to their sites, it’s not often the case because lots of website owners would only require you to submit your articles through e-mail.

4. You have to be a journalism or English major to be a freelance writer.

Online writing doesn’t require you to hold a degree in journalism or English. Your course doesn’t really matter in this profession although it can serve you well. But as long as you have strong writing skills and you know how to write flawless articles that provide useful information, you can qualify to write for the web.

5. You need a merchant bank account to receive payment.

This myth had already been busted many years ago and it’s no longer true these days. Receiving payment has been made quicker and easier with the establishment of PayPal, an online payment method that allows you to send and receive money anywhere in the world. You should open a free PayPal account in order to receive payment for your online writing projects.

6. Online freelance writing is only for people living in the United States.

This is another myth because anyone who can write very well in English is qualified to write for the web.

7. You need to be an expert in a niche before you can qualify for an online writing job.

Being an expert in a particular niche is a plus in online content writing. But if you have good research skills, you can still qualify to write for the web even if you are not an expert.

There are many freelance writing opportunities which don’t require any specific expertise, and all you need to have are a good command of the English language, good writing and research skills, and commitment to submit projects before the deadline.

These are some of the myths that go with the online freelance writing profession. They are misconceptions that should not hold you back from your objective of writing online to make productive use of your knowledge and writing abilities.